Broadband Internet Information

How to Troubleshoot Your Internet Connection for DSL or Cable Service


One of the common problems among internet users is testing their internet connection to pinpoint the exact problem. There is a big number of internet users who use DSL, and cable modem service.

You set us your connection the way your ISP (internet service provider)instruct you to. Sometimes, it doesn't work for numerous reasons.

You service is not ready, your hardware in not connected properly, or your ISP is having problems.

Whatever the cause of the problem maybe, there are some diagnostic tools you can use in Windows XP, in order to identify the problem.

If you are not exact in your diagnostic, you will get a good idea at least.

Before we get to the diagnostic tools, let us discuss what is involved in an internet connection.

The information travels over the internet to your computer through your ISP service. This is done through a High speed modem then to a network card installed in your computer.

Your computer is called a host, your service provider will give you the DNS IP address, and you get your login and password. That is all what you have from your ISP.

Sometimes, your internet connection fails, and you want to find out the problem. You may be able to fix it, or at least get some information about the problem to advise your isp for help.

You will start by accessing the command prompt by going in sequence to:

Start menu, program, accessories, then command prompt. A window will open where you type commands from the prompt.

At the command prompt, you type: IPCONFIG. This command will give you the active network connection on your computer. Here is an example:

PPP adapter Copy :

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 68.239.158.45
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 68.239.158.45

The above output was produced when I ran the Ipconfig command on my own computer running Window XP OS, and A DSL connection. The IP address is my computer address assigned by the ISP.

Please note, you can add an option to this command, in order to get more detailed information about your connection. Here is the output, when I ran the same command with the "all" option.

Ipconfig /ALL

PPP adapter Copy :

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : WAN (PPP/SLIP) Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-53-45-00-00-00
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 68.239.158.45
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 68.239.158.45
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 151.198.0.39 151.197.0.39 NetBIOS over TCP/IP. . . . . . . . : Disabled

Notice now, the output includes the phisycal address of the network interface card installed in my computer. Also, you see the DNS IP addresses. With the above information, I didn't have any problems.

Supposed ,I disconnect my DSL connection and ran the command again, this is the new result:

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

Notice in this case, where I disconnected my connection, you don't get a DNS server. This tells you that I am not connected to the internet.

Also, notice the IP address starts with 192.168, which is the default address whenever your computer is not connected to the internet.

Another command is the ping command. It will allow to check if a computer is connected to the network and ready to communicate, whether intranet, or internet.

Once you run it,it will sent a packet to the computer specified and gives the time it took for the packet to travel. This is an a output when I tried to ping www.yahoo.com:

C:>ping www.yahoo.com

Pinging www.yahoo.akadns.net [216.109.118.66] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 216.109.118.66: bytes=32 time=35ms TTL=55
Reply from 216.109.118.66: bytes=32 time=39ms TTL=55

Ping statistics for 216.109.118.66:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 35ms, Maximum = 39ms, Average = 38ms.

That shows that the host was reachable, and connected to the internet.

A very important command is the Nslookup. This will let you check if DNS (domain name server) is working properly. The function of the DNS server is to translate ip addresses to domain name of the networked computer. Here is an example:

C:> nslookup www.yahoo.com
Server: home5.bellatlantic.net
Address: 151.198.0.39

Non-authoritative answer:
Name: www.yahoo.akadns.net
Addresses: 216.109.118.67
Aliases: www.yahoo.com

So, you enter the name after Nslookup, it will give you IP addresses and vice versa.

In summary, there more commands in Windows Xp, but using the three above commands should give you a good idea about your internet connection problems. You can find where the problem is occurring. Is it your machine, or the ISP.

Thanks,
George Chamoun

For tips about your Windows XP computer, visit our new website: http://www.ResolveWindowsXpProblems.com


MORE RESOURCES:
Google

Virgin Connect broadband internet business launched in Russia
Telecom Paper (subscription), Netherlands - 5 hours ago
Working with Trivon, Virgin has secured licences to launch the broadband internet service in 32 regions and 20 of the largest cities across the country.


Comstar-UTS to launch broadband internet in Orenburg
Telecom Paper (subscription), Netherlands - 4 hours ago
Comstar UTS subsidiary RTC-Orenburg is to complete a project to increase network capacity to accommodate for internet broadband access service in Orenburg ...


Increasing adoption of Broadband Internet in the Arab World is set ...
Al-Bawaba, Jordan - May 14, 2008
The silver lining is that more households are connected to broadband Internet services which would positively affect adoption of Internet-based services ...


?SA?s telecommunications bottlenecks to be broken over the next ...
The Times, South Africa - 1 hour ago
"Although broadband penetration locally remains low, the number of people connected to broadband Internet services will grow dramatically over the next few ...


Mio Group Plans Launch of Mobile Voice and Wireless Broadband ...
FOXBusiness - May 10, 2008
Mio will be the first in the Caribbean to offer affordable unlimited wireless broadband Internet access and voice plans that include voicemail and unlimited ...


Broadband Internet growing rapidly in Tennessee's rural areas
WBIR-TV, TN - May 13, 2008
By NAOMI SNYDER Staff Writer A non-profit group that works to expand broadband Internet access said half of all Tennesseans now have broadband service at ...
Tennessee businesses jumping on broadband bandwagon Bizjournals.com
Half of Tennessee homes have broadband, group says Knoxville News Sentinel
Connected Tennessee?s Impact Evident in State?s Broadband Growth Emailwire
Bizjournals.com - Knoxville News Sentinel
all 18 news articles


800-Mile Underwater Cable to Bring Broadband Internet Access to ...
TMCnet - May 13, 2008
... under a contract with Indonesia-based PT Indosat Tbk ? is expected to meet a growing demand in southeast Asia for high-speed broadband Internet access. ...


The Line (subscription)

$270m set aside for broadband internet
The West Australian, Australia - May 13, 2008
The federal government will provide $270.7 million over four years to extend the Australian Broadband Guarantee program until 2012. ...
$4.7 billion for broadband network in Budget NEWS.com.au
all 47 news articles


Billion-ringgit boost for broadband
Malaysia Star, Malaysia - 14 hours ago
By JO TIMBUONG KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) and the Government are spending a total of RM15.6bil to ensure that the country will have a top-notch ...


Comstar Ukraine launches broadband internet, IPTV bundle
Telecom Paper (subscription), Netherlands - May 8, 2008
Comstar Ukraine launches Double Play, a bundle which includes a broadband internet service and an IPTV service. Users can choose between six tariff plans ...

Broadband-Internet - Google News

home | site map
© 2006